SXSW: Day Two: Part Two: Music, music and more music

Kristian Mattson, the Tallest Man on Earth, at a day party at a Sixth Street club called Red 7. (Photo by Meri Simon)

I’M JUST GOING TO QUICKLY hit more of the bands that hit me on this day:

Tallest Man on Earth is actually about 5-foot-2 so you can toss out that boast. Best Folk Singer in Sweden? That one may very well apply. Another in a string of “Dylan sound-alikes,” Kristian Matsson writes folk songs adeptly and plays guitar well enough to transcend the comparison. His lyrics are more prosaic than anything Dylan ever wrote, but it ain’t the 60s anymore. A great find. He benefitted from a 2008 tour opening for last year’s singer-songwriter sensation, Bon Iver. Mattson will be at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco this Wednesday (Mar. 25). Ticket info.Listen to the Tallest Man on Earth.Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles: Boston is not known for producing many country-rock artists, but Borges and band have carved out a nice niche on the rock side of that equation. She’s a great singer, a fabulous frontwoman and the band is superb. A new album, “The Stars Are Out,” will be out this week and songs she played from the new release here in Austin sounded like more of the good stuff she’s delivered on her first two. Her last album featured an excellent cover of “Come Back to Me,” by L.A. punk pioneers X, so I’m watching eagerly to see what she pulls out for this CD. Listen here.

Chip Robinson: This is the story of a man risen from the dead. Robinson was the leader of The Backsliders, a Raleigh, N.C. band that was at its peak when the alt-country movement was at its peak in the mid-90s. The Backsliders dissolved as the millenium dawned and Robinson decided to withdraw from the rock ‘n’ roll rat race, shear off his distinctive mop of hair and settle into family life in Raleigh. Time passed and he’s finally going back to work. At a couple of day parties here, he dusted off some Backsliders classics and debuted some superb songs from an upcoming album by his new crew, Chip Robinson and His Heavy Beat Outfit. Listen here.